n

n

nHaving been able to satisfy the demands of his stupid sixth sense for a couple of weeks in a row Christian felt that he would be able to spend an evening properly ignoring them without seeming too distracted. He agreed to go bowling with Avery and Angelo, which he knew was a common activity for the two of them.

nShe had already taken him to do it alone once while his cast was on since he had broken his left wrist and he bowled with his right. He was reminded forcefully of how rusty he was but he had been able to practice a little.

nHe didn't want to embarrass himself too much in front of his girlfriend's best friend. This meeting was nerve-wracking enough already.

nChristian had seen pictures of Angelo before, both recent and from his and Avery's childhood since they had been raised as cousins. He was a stocky Hispanic man a bit shorter than her with close cropped hair and well-maintained stubble who frequently had a mischievous sparkle in his eyes and a wide grin.

nIn person he wasn't nearly as smiley but that might be because he was skeptical of his best friend's boyfriend. He regarded Christian through narrowed eyes.

"Hey, Subway Guy. You being good to my girl?

"

nAvery rolled her eyes at him.

"Quit trying to act intimidating; it doesn't suit you.

"

n

"Is that a crack at my height? Because we can't all be giants like you!

"

n

"You always interpret my comments so personally.

"

n

"Because they are personal! Aw, forget it. I'm Angelo Cruz, as I'm sure you know. Güera here hasn't told me nearly as much about you as she should have.

"

nChristian smiled at him, unintimidated now that his tough guy act had faltered slightly. He had to remind himself that Angelo was only doing this because he cared about Avery as her only remaining family.

n

"Christian Slater. It's nice to finally meet you,

" he said as he reached out to shake the other man's hand.

nAvery scooted them along to go rent shoes and pay for a few games after that so Angelo wasn't able to resume his interrogation until the game had begun and she went first. She rather impressively managed to get a strike right away.

n

"So, I hear you're a lawyer and have a side gig on weekends. What would a lawyer possibly need a side gig for?

" he asked suspiciously.

n

"It isn't paid,

" Christian explained, using the same explanation he gave Avery.

"It's volunteer work but it's important to me so I can't give it up. I've been doing it since high school.

"

n

"Oh, yeah? What sort of volunteer work keeps you too busy to hang out with your girlfriend?

"

nHe was spared from answering because it was his turn. When he came back Avery was deep in conversation with him about a funny story involving Vanessa at work. It seemed she had purposely changed the subject to help him out. Bless her.

nThis pattern continued throughout the first game, which Christian did rather poorly in comparison to the others. It was plain as day they were regular bowlers while he was a novice. At least he only got two gutter balls; it had been worse last time since it had been so many years since he bowled.

nHe thought everything was going relatively well until Angelo took advantage of Avery going to the bathroom to pounce.

"What are your intentions with Avery?

"

nThis was a problem because he didn't have any. At least not any he could own up to. How was he supposed to explain the permanently up-in-the-air circumstances they had agreed upon before getting into the relationship?

n

"To take things as they come,

" Christian said diplomatically.

nAngelo pursed his lips.

"Did she tell you she can't commit long-term?

"

n

"She did.

"

nHe found the question odd. Had she talked about why she couldn't do that sort of thing with her surrogate cousin? He supposed the two of them were close…

n

"Look, I have nothing against you on a personal level but she has plans. Goals. Things she can't do if she's tied down permanently. So as long as you keep making her happy for now but understand this won't last forever we're cool. You're a lot better than she last person she liked; I can tell you that much. Completely hopeless! The guy was a superhero; he didn't even know she existed!

"

nChristian may as well have been struck by lightning with how shocked he was. That whole speech was a lot to take in but the last part was what got to him most. Which one was it?! He probably knew them! He was on at least passing terms with all the heroes in the area.

n

"Which one?!

"

nAngelo realized he said something bad and immediately began to panic.

"Crap, I shouldn't have said that. Don't you dare tell her; she'll kill me!

"

n

"I won't if you tell me which one,

" he promised in as calm a voice as he could muster.

n

"Mercury. You know, the guy in the yellow suit who can fly? It was the most ridiculous thing; I was actually relieved when she switched her focus to you. Like I said, we're cool as long as you don't mess with her long-term plans.

"

nChristian was too stunned to care that he sort of had Angelo's approval. Avery had a crush on him before she switched to having a crush on him?!

nHe hadn't even begun to process that when she came back and looked back and forth between the two of them suspiciously.

"…did you guys talk about anything weird when I was gone?

"

n

"No,

" they said simultaneously.

nShe didn't seem to buy it but went to take her turn anyway. His mind was still racing. Avery liked him as Mercury before she liked him as Christian. Why? Because he saved her that one time? Was it nothing more than a case of hero worship?

nIf that was the case it probably wouldn't be too difficult for her to change her mind and latch onto someone else but why would she do that? Because he had shown interest in her first or because he had sort of saved her in the subway? Did she have a thing for people saving her or what?

nChristian was baffled. Truly baffled. The only person that had ever confused him more than his girlfriend was at the moment was Nox.

nAvery may have switched the focus of her affection after realizing that she would never get to date a superhero, even if said superhero unknowingly returned her feelings. Would she have done it to the first person who came along no matter what or did she somehow sense they were the same person and gave off similar vibes?

nThat didn't seem possible; especially considering he had only met her once as Mercury before they went out. He tried thinking back on that night. She had smiled at him rather brightly when he showed up to save her and the other girl in the bathroom…

nShe had smiled at him as himself in the same way when they went to get ice cream though. She was a smiley person; that didn't mean anything. But she had been worried about him when he was supposedly missing, going as far as asking him where he was.

nOh, this was so confusing! Would she have asked the guy she was crushing on about her date with that degree of concern if she hadn't switched who she liked already?

nChristian wasn't able to wrap his head around it by the end of their time hanging out with Angelo. He forgot about it for a little while when they got back to Avery's place because she distracted him by parking herself on his lap and passionately kissing him. By the time they were lying in bed with her snuggled up against his chest he was thinking about it again and was more confused than before.

nHe tried convincing himself it didn't matter. That no matter what she liked him so this wasn't a problem, confusing as it was. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done because she didn't know they were the same person. How had she ended up falling for him twice under two such completely different circumstances?!

n

"What are you thinking about?

" Avery asked sleepily as she craned her neck to gaze up at him.

n

"You.

"

nIt was hard to put everything he was thinking and feeling into words, especially since he couldn't tell her who he was. That was the simplest way he could explain it.

nShe planted a kiss on his neck and snuggled closer.

"Mm, what about me?

"

n

"Just wondering why you like me,

" Christian understated.

n

"Like I've told you before, you're kind, funny, and I love talking to you. Of all the people I spend time with you're my favorite.

"

nThat wasn't what confused him. He knew that was why she liked his secret identity. But why did she like Mercury? All he did was save her from a creep and buy her a hot dog! Had anything about that encounter been funny to her?

n